"It's you again?"
Smoker's gaze suddenly locked onto Luo Yan, and his tone made it sound like the two had interacted many times before.
Luo Yan was slightly stunned; he never expected his first words with Smoker to be this.
"You know me?"
Luo Yan responded with a light laugh, not bothered by the fact that the other party was a Marine, as his ship didn't fly a skull flag.
"I noticed you back in Loguetown. You not only know the Straw Hat Kid, but also Dragon of the Revolutionary Army? Just who are you?"
"Heh! What? Are you trying to label me and arrest me because you think I'm easy to bully?"
Luo Yan narrowed his eyes at Smoker. He wasn't afraid of the other party now. Firstly, he was already Sequence 5; even a Vice Admiral couldn't catch him at sea. Secondly, Smoker hadn't fully developed yet and was only a Colonel. Even with a devil fruit of the Logia type, he wouldn't be much stronger than an average Rear Admiral.
Smoker stared at Luo Yan for a long time, but eventually shook his head, showing no intention of attacking.
"No, I just want to know who you are. My target is the Straw Hat Kid."
"I see. My name is Luo Yan, and I am an Adventurer. Don't worry, my ship won't fly a Pirate flag."
"Let's hope so."
Smoker retracted his gaze, slung his weapon onto his back, and turned to leave with his Marines. Luo Yan winked at Mite beside him, and Mite, understanding, weighed anchor and set sail, preparing to chase the Going Merry.
"I thought that guy would make a move."
Xia Tali, who had been accompanying Luo Yan, mumbled, seemingly disappointed yet subtly relieved.
"Why do you say that?"
Luo Yan looked at Xia Tali curiously. Xia Tali shook her head and said, "Didn't that guy say it? You know Luffy, and you also know Dragon. Luffy is fine, after all, he's just a pirate with a not-so-high bounty. But Dragon is different; he's a man with a five-billion bounty."
Xia Tali had been with the Marines for half a month and had learned some things about the Revolutionary Army, knowing that Dragon was a man hated by the World Government, with a bounty as high as five billion.
Luo Yan smiled and returned to his deck chair to lie down.
"If it were someone from the CP organization, they might try to capture me to interrogate me for information on the Revolutionary Army. But they are Marines. Marines don't concern themselves with the Revolutionary Army. I only know Dragon; I haven't committed any crimes, so they have no reason to attack me."
"But I heard that the Marines are a subordinate force of the World Government."
Xia Tali tilted her head, expressing her confusion. Luo Yan chuckled and explained, "The Marines and the World Government are different. They are different now, and they will be different in the future. However, since the Marines know I've had contact with Dragon, I'll need to be wary of the CP guys from now on. Those people are the World Government's lackeys."
After shaking off their pursuers, the Going Merry didn't continue forward but waited at sea for Luo Yan's ship. Seeing Luo Yan's ship catch up, Luffy waved again to greet him.
"Luo Yan~! It's been a long time, I didn't expect to meet you here."
"Haha, yes, it's been a long time. But I knew beforehand that you were here, which is why I stopped my ship there to wait for you all."
"Eh? You knew?"
Luffy's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in shock, as if he had heard something incredible. The others, though surprised, showed very little emotion and didn't react as strongly.
By this time, the distance between the two ships was less than five meters. Luo Yan directly jumped onto the Going Merry and raised his hand to greet the others.
"Yes, I learned through some means that you were in Alabasta. Speaking of which, it seems you've found a new companion?"
Luo Yan's gaze fell on the small Chopper. Chopper didn't know Luo Yan and felt a bit uncomfortable under his scrutiny, but Luffy immediately burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Yes, this is Chopper, our ship's doctor. He's an excellent ship's doctor!"
"Heh heh, I see. How about letting him and Xia Tali exchange medical knowledge? Perhaps they can both learn something."
"Alright."
Luffy agreed without thinking, and the others, including Chopper himself, had no objections. They were already friends, and Xia Tali had easily cured Zoro before, so exchanging medical knowledge with such a person was naturally something Chopper eagerly desired.
"Speaking of which, who is this?"
Luo Yan naturally knew Ace, but since it was their first meeting, he naturally pretended not to know him and looked at Ace.
Luffy immediately became enthusiastic, putting an arm around Luo Yan's shoulder and grinning as he introduced him to Ace.
"Hehehe! This is my big brother, Ace. Ace, this is my friend Luo Yan, whom I met on Cocoyasi Island."
"Hello, thank you for taking care of my little brother."
Ace straightened up and formally bowed to Luo Yan. Luo Yan's eyes lit up, and he looked pleasantly surprised.
"Ace? Fire Fist Ace? Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division?"
"You know me?"
"Of course, Fire Fist Ace's name is well-known across the entire Grand Line. To be honest, I came to the Grand Line this time to meet Whitebeard. I never expected to meet the Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division here."
"To see Pops?" Ace's expression became slightly more serious. "What do you need?"
"Heh heh, just a small matter. I need a small-scale earthquake and Tsunami to do some things, so I wanted to ask Whitebeard for his help."
Ace nodded in understanding, but then his brows furrowed slightly.
"Pops hasn't been in very good health lately. If you just go to ask Pops for help, he probably won't agree, unless you join the Whitebeard Pirates. But I already heard from Luffy that you're an Adventurer and don't plan on being a pirate."
"Not in good health? Heh heh, I'll bring my ship's doctor along. She's a very excellent doctor. If she can improve Whitebeard's condition, then I should be able to get his help, right?"
"If you can make Pops's condition better, then of course there's no problem. But there are also many skilled doctors in the Whitebeard Pirates."
Ace's implication was, "Our excellent doctors in the crew couldn't do anything, so how could a doctor you found from who knows where possibly help?"
Luo Yan understood the meaning behind Ace's words. He didn't argue but instead looked back at his own ship. Xia Tali, who had already been forewarned by Luo Yan, immediately jumped onto the Going Merry. Although her physique was weaker than normal people before, after taking two doses of the magic potion, and with the Beast Tamer's ability to significantly enhance physical fitness, Xia Tali's physical strength was now far superior to ordinary people.
"This is my ship's doctor. I wonder if you could tell us about Whitebeard's condition, so my ship's doctor can prepare in advance."